Pillars of Light
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 1096b: Nora P. Fabray wants a sibling, a sister more than anything, and now it may be happening for her, twice. - Anniversary cycle day 4 of 21, shift B


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 52nd cycle. Now cycle 53!_

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_**THIRD ANNIVERSARY CYCLE: **It's late October again, and within this cycle I will be completing my third year of daily gleekathon stories and commencing a fourth! As in previous years, this means special things happening. I've selected my favorite stories from throughout the year, and I'll be treating them to something special. In previous years this included Prequel, Sequel, and POV Swap, and then Additional Scenes and Alternate Endings. This year I'm adding two new treatments: Genre Swap (I think that's pretty straightforward) and Element Change (I change one thing in the story, see how it affects the rest). Note that in both these cases and some of the others, there may excerpts directly transferred from the story it references. Also, since this year saw the addition of 'shift days', and since I suck at picking, I have selected 42 stories, to be treated two per day! So here we go!_

_**This story** is a Prequel to This Little Light of Mine, a Sunshine Girls series story, originally posted from July 5 to 25 2012.  
_

_**Today is the last day of year three!** Tomorrow the fourth year begins! :D  
_

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_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Then Came the Spark._

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**"Pillars of Light"  
(Older) Rachel & Quinn, Rachel/Puck, Quinn/Finn, 10-11yo Nora (AU!Beth)  
Sunshine Girls series extra  
_(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)_  
**

_One day in February – New York_

She'd been sitting in her dressing room for a good twenty minutes with her forehead pressed to the table's surface, breathing slowly and trying to get herself not feeling so off. She had to get ready, they were going on that night, but she knew there was no way she'd make it through that night if she kept feeling this way. She'd had nights where she had powered through when she needed to, but she didn't think she could even do that. Soon they would come looking for her, and then she'd have to make a decision, to go on or not… She was still pulling for a miracle recovery.

For some reason she had been counting back days, trying to remember how long it had been since she'd missed a performance, and then it clicked in her head. She pulled herself back to sit up straight, although it felt more like a slouch. She rubbed at her face, trying to focus and really think about this. They hadn't been outright trying, but they weren't doing anything to prevent it either…

She got up and walked out into the hall, looking, looking… "Hey, Jo," she called after the girl when she spotted her dashing through. She paused, turning back.

"Miss Berry?" she asked, even after Rachel had told her again and again that she could call her by her first name. She had the flush of winter still in her cheeks.

"Did you just get in?" Rachel asked, and Jo nodded. "Would you mind going out again?"

She had sent the ensemble girl off with the precise instruction that she wasn't to tell anyone what she was going for and for who. Before returning to her dressing room, she had let them know she wouldn't be going on that night. Whether or not she was right, she had to admit to herself that she was in no condition to go on. She had sat there in the dressing room, waiting... Part of her wanted to call someone, tell them... Puck of course, or Quinn... But then she wanted to know for sure before she told anyone. In a way she had already told someone, had to, if she wanted Jo to get her what she needed.

Five minutes after her departure, there had been a knock at her door. "Miss Berry?" Jo asked, and Rachel sighed, telling her to come in. She pulled her bag open, taking out the bag from the pharmacy and handing it to her. "Hope this is alright."

"I'm sure it'll do its job," Rachel assured her. She stared at the box for a moment. She didn't think she'd be so nervous. "Listen, you need to get ready..." She shook her head, looking back to the girl.

"They won't miss me if I take five more minutes," she shrugged, replying to the unasked question, and Rachel smiled, nodding to the couch before she went into her bathroom.

She opened the box, reading the instructions. It wasn't complicated, but with how nervous she was, she could have messed it up anyway. Before long, she was done. After washing her hands she had come out of the bathroom, looking to her watch. "Now we wait," she breathed. In the time Rachel had been in the bathroom, Jo had gone ahead and poured water in a cup, which she held out to her. "Thank you," Rachel gladly took it, drinking down as she sat in her chair, unable to just stand there. The ensemble girl sat back down on the couch, looking at her. "You're from Texas, right?" Rachel found herself asking.

"Yes, Miss," Jo looked both surprised and excited that she knew this.

"Been here long?"

"A year. Moved here after I graduated high school," she replied.

"Do you miss it?"

"Every day," Jo confirmed. "But I feel the same way about New York when I go back." Rachel smiled, looked down to her watch. She let out a breath... Two minutes had passed. "Do you need me to..." Jo indicated the bathroom.

"Can you?" Rachel asked, and the girl got up, waiting a beat before she went in. A few seconds passed before she returned with the stick in hand, and she didn't have to say a thing for her to know... "It's positive?" she asked, feeling her eyes water.

"Is... That's what you wanted, right?" Jo asked, hesitant.

"Yeah..." Rachel laughed, holding her hand out so Jo would hand her the stick and she could see for herself... It was real...

She'd sent Jo off to get ready, not wanting her getting in trouble for her sake. Now that she was on her own though, between how she'd felt before, and how she felt about the news, she was feeling like she could fall at any moment, so she sat. Eventually she had called a cab, gathered her things, and left the theater. It was on the drive back that she remembered that Puck had a show that night, too... She wasn't even sure he'd be home when she got there.

But she had gotten there and she found him getting ready. "Hey," she stopped just at the door to their room. He looked up, surprised.

"Hey, what's going on, don't you have to be on tonight?" he asked, coming up to her, putting his arms around her. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked. "You look a little pale."

"I..." she started, pausing with a laugh before looking back to him. "I'm... pregnant," she revealed, and he looked completely shocked, losing his balance before pulling back together.

"You are?" he asked, and the trace of excitement in his voice made her beam. She gave a firm nod.

"Probably should go to the doctor's to make sure, but..." she started, but he didn't let her finish, kissing her.

"Okay, just let me call and cancel for tonight..." he started, and she shook her head. "No but I don't want to leave you, unless you want to come and watch... You should rest, if you're not feeling well..."

"You're not canceling," she decided. "Tonight I'm watching my husband do his thing," she grinned.

"I'll get you the best table," he declared with pride. "First though, I think there's something we should do."

X

_Lima, Ohio_

Nora was known to take a lot of time when she took her bath, pretending she was a mermaid, or a water dancer, or bellowing a song only to hear her voice bounce off the walls... She was in the middle of doing just that when there was a knock at the door. "Hey, there's a call waiting for you," her mother's voice was heard. Nora frowned, not wanting to leave her tub. "From New York," Quinn added, and she must have heard the splash as Nora tried to hurry out, slipping into the PJs already laid out and waiting. She emerged into the hall, wet hair around her face and hands reaching for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey you," her stepmother's voice came on.

"Hi Mom!" Nora smiled. "I was taking my bath," she explained her delay.

"Did you belt it out?" Rachel asked. "Did they hear you across the street?"

"I don't know," she laughed.

"So there's something I have to tell you," her stepmother revealed.

"Are you coming back early?"

"Not yet, honey, but we'll be there for your birthday in a few weeks, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," she sighed.

"But until then, there is something, and it should hold you until then..." Even on the phone, Nora could picture her stepmother's 'turn that frown upside down' look. "In a few months, you are going to be a big sister," she had said, and she would probably wonder why there was no sound at first, as the words had left the soon-to-be eleven-year-old speechless, looking up to her mother, who gave a knowing smile. "Nora? You still there?"

"Brother or sister?" were the first words out of her, and when she heard not only her stepmother's laugh but her father's as well, she figured out he'd been listening in all along. "Hi, Dad!"

"Hey, Nora," Puck spoke up. "Can't wait to see you."

"Me, too."

xxx

_One day in April - Lima, Ohio_

It had been days since Nora's birthday, and Rachel and Puck had left for New York the night before. Quinn knew this would leave her daughter in a bad mood, so she had gone to pick her up from school that afternoon. She had a few errands to run, and Nora was always up for helping her. They had made their way to the mall, picked up some supplies for her garden, a present for a co-worker's birthday, which had led to Nora getting a new book to read. Their last stop was the grocery store.

"What are we having tonight?" Nora asked as they went down the aisles.

"Chicken, unless you've got a better idea," she opened. Nora pondered this offer. Giving her free choice was as good as guaranteeing they'd be walking around the grocery store for another twenty minutes. Quinn didn't mind this at all, if it gave them more time together. They carried on, from one aisle to the next, with Nora considering all her options.

They were just passing through the produce section, and then she'd seen the apples. Within seconds, she just wanted to grab a bag all to herself. She didn't know what it was, and she blinked, focusing back on Nora's wild search. Only moving right along they had gone by the trusty donut machine, and she would swear her mouth had watered immediately.

"Are they the cinnamon ones?" Nora's voice brought her back.

"What?" she asked, and Nora pointed to the basket. She hadn't even realized she had picked up the bag and put it in their basket. "I... Yeah, I think so," she looked, while Nora gave her a confused look. She didn't blame her. She didn't know what had come over her, the last time she'd craved apples and those fresh donuts was... No, it couldn't be... What were the odds, with Rachel already...

"Mom? Are you okay?" Nora asked.

"I think so," she frowned. It wasn't impossible, she knew... Maybe...

"You don't look okay," Nora came up to her.

"If I tell you something, promise to keep it to yourself and not freak out?" Quinn looked to her daughter. Nora nodded, coming nearer again. "There's a chance, I'm not sure yet, but I think I might be pregnant," she revealed, and she saw the same quiet surprise as she had seen on the night Rachel had called with her news.

"How do you make sure, it's a test, right?" Quinn nodded. "Where do you get it?"

"At the pharmacy." Nora took her mother's hand, dragging her away from their basket, which had nothing but the donuts in it.

"We're having chicken, let's go to the pharmacy," she announced.

After going to buy the test, they had gone home. Finn wasn't home yet, and Nora insisted Quinn did the test right away. While she was in the bathroom, she could hear Nora talking to her through the door.

"If it says yes, then I'm going to have two brothers and sisters, right? Maybe two sisters, or one of each... What if it's two boys and I'm stuck with just boys?"

"If that happens, they'll be lucky to have you," Quinn smiled to herself.

"One of them has to be a girl, at least!" Nora insisted. "Is there a way to make sure?" Quinn was done, so she opened the door and Nora came in. "But we won't be the same... Emily and I were talking. Because with them, we have the same dad, but not the same mom, and this one..." Quinn reached out, bringing her closer to pull her arms around her.

"You'll be family, just remember that." Nora smiled, looking to the stick on the counter.

"How does it work?"

"You pee on it," Quinn explained very simply, and as predicted Nora responded to this with a grossed out frown. Quinn laughed, kissing the side of her head. "If two lines appear here, it means yes, one line means no." Nora looked, and she turned back to her mother with a smirk. "What?"

"Two lines, and I'm saying it's going to be a girl, like me," she announced, closing the hug around her mother.

Quinn had been surprised, even with the evidence that had been piling up since the grocery store. Of course the last time she had taken a pregnancy test she had been a scared teenager who only wanted that stick to say no... If only she had known... This time around though, there was nothing to be scared of, quite the opposite. They were ready for this...

When Finn had arrived, Nora had run up to her room, like she was afraid he would suss out the truth from her. "Did I say something, I didn't even get hello in," he looked to Quinn, who came up to him with a smile. "Hey..." he smiled back as she kissed him.

"So I was going to wait until later, but if our daughter has any hopes of showing herself for dinner, I think I'll need to speed this up."

"Speed what up?"

"Telling you that Rachel won't be the only one cruising the maternity ward in a few months," Quinn smirked.

"What do y..." he stopped when it hit him and he flinched with a gasp. "Are you serious? We..." his hand hovered near her stomach until he could get confirmation, when she gave him a smile and a nod, he scooped her up in his arms. "Oh, that's... Wait, I'm not hurting you, am I?" he let her go, looking down.

"I'm fine," she laughed. "Nora, you can come down now, he knows!" she then called up, and the blonde appeared at the top of the stairs, grinning.

"One of them has to be a girl, you'll see."

THE END

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******A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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